A Roleplaying Game
by Drop The Act. Put On A Smile
Summary: Freaky things go on in the night when no one is aware. Certain things happen, that will cause those who commit these actions to be shunned from the world. A group of ponies get together, every night, to go through treacherous events, and they witness death almost every time they do. Join Twilight and friends as they play an RPG together. Rated T for, well, things that happen.


**'A Roleplaying Game'**

**A new idea that came to me when I searched up the word Zebra on google. Weird place to get an idea right? I know, but I went with it, and this is what I got. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Like I put in everyone of my more up-to-date fanfics, I put all the important stuff at the bottom so~**

**-THIS IS A LINE!-**

Four shadows sat around a table, well one of them was hunched over the table. The other three were trying to keep up presentation with small chatter. It wasn't going all that well.

"So, darling. I heard we are having somepony new join us tonight?" A hooded mare spoke, her voice quiet as the others in the room stared at her.

Another hooded mare, taller than the rest answered in the only way she knew how. In rhyme. "You, of course, know her name, she's riddled in her own self-fame." She says with a nod, her own hood shadowing over her face.

"Ah. Rainbow Dash it is then?" Rarity answers, receiving a simultaneous nod from the entire group.

"Well, who's bringin' her then, an' why's it takin' so gosh-darn long? We ain't got all night!" A figure to Rarity's right nearly shouts.

"Remember, Applejack. Whenever we have somepony new, it is usually Twilight that grabs them for us." Rarity replies, causing the earth-pony to grumble a bit.

"Well, she could hurry it up a little! Mah hooves are-a gettin' tired of standin' fer so long." Just as Applejack began to say these words, a door from above opened, and two new voices were added to the mix.

"Down here, Rainbow Dash. Come on." Twilight's voice sounded downward. Not long after, a sigh was heard as well. "What are we even doing down here? I mean, come on! It's the middle of the night... couldn't you have, oh I don't know... Waited 'till morning?!" Ah, there she is. The mare of the hour.

Rainbow Dash.

"Ugh... this can't wait until morning, Rainbow, this is something that needs to happen!" Twilgiht's reply sounded a bit harsh, but her methods worked.

"Fine. Just make it quick, I'll need to catch some extra z's after this." RD says back, and by now everypony in the basement can see the hooves and bodies of both Twilight and RD.

On her way down and at the bottom step, Twilight flicked a switch, giving the room around her an eerie glow.

Not really, it was actually your average lighting, and let's just say... nopony was expecting it.

"Ahh! Ya could'a warned us!" Applejack shouts, clenching her eyes shut, her hooves rubbing ferociously at them.

"Sorry! I thought you guys were used to that by now!" Was Twilight's... rather lame answer.

"Aw man, I really should get that fi-" She started to complain, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight? What's going on?" She questions, causing everything to go silent for a few moments.

Twilight turns around and looks at her friend with a serious expression plastered on her face. She gives a sigh and a "follow me" was the only thing she said.

"Foll-I've been following you all night!" RD shouted, becoming annoyed at this endless confusion.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine, just be quiet and listen then. We're saving the world." She said.

...

...

...

"What." RD merely raised and eyebrow.

"Didn't you hear me? I said we're saving the wor-well not our world, but the world of Ponoria" Twilight answered from her position at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, dear, and we are in need of newcomers like you to help us on our quest!" Rarity said, getting into her character.

Twilight nods with Rarity's idea and begins to speak again. "We mustn't let the evil queen be born anew. With your help, Dash of Rainbows, we can overcome her and her armies!" She spoke dramatically, an inch of sincere fear in her heart.

RD gave a sigh of annoyance. "Alright Pinkie. You got me, now come on out so I can go back home and sleep." She said.

"It isn't a jest, Fair Dash." Applejack spoke in a voice unlike hers, causing RD to give a little gulp. Things were beginning to grow weird in Twilight's basement. "Please, Dash, you must help us. You are our only hope! You are the chosen one!" She continued, pleadingly.

RD's eyes opened in sudden realization. "Nerds!" She shouted, which in turn caused Twilight to break character, if only for the moment.

"We aren't nerds! We're just trying to-oh, ehem. I mean, please, Dash. Give us a chance! We have already made you a character sheet and everything." Twilight said, her eyes growing wide and watery.

RD opened and closed her mouth for a few moments. She looked at everypony in the room, even Zecora seemed to be staring at her with hope.

Wait, who the hay is the one sleeping at the table?!

"Ugh! Fine... but if I get bored I'm out." She said, looking back at Twilgiht crossly. "Show me this 'character sheet'." She added with a grunt of annoyance.

"Oh, you won't be disappointed! You actually have a pretty decent starting Warrior!" Twilight said with a huge smile, pulling RD along with her to the table that was placed in the middle of the room.

Rarity gave a smile, along with Applejack and Zecora.

The one that was sleeping is still, well, sleeping.

Twilight began moving papers around, in search of Rainbow Dash's sheet. The whole place was decorated to look from the old times, and with the way everypony was dressed? RD's pretty sure her guess was spot on. RD spotted the beginning of her name printed neatly on a sheet of paper under the sleeping form, she then nudged Twilight and pointed at it.

"Oh! Thanks." She nodded and nudged the sleeping form. "Hey? Can you wake up? It's almost time!" She spoke.

The form grumbled something before lifting itself up. Revealing none other than!  
The exhausted form of Cake.

"W-why does we must do-" he yawns out and stretches his back.

Twilight ignored his tired comment and showed Dash her character. "All you have to do is choose a name for your-"

RD ripped the sheet from her magical hold and wrote down something. "There. Now, can we get this over with?" She said, just as Twilight used magic to grab the sheet again.

"Not just yet, we need to verify your character." She said back to her, inspecting RD's sheet.

"Alright, so we need you to roll these dice here 6 times..."

RD just groaned.

**One Whole Filled Character Sheet Later.**

"Ok... So, you're a Female Warrior, your name is Dead Rainbow. You have with you a DarkKnight Scythe, four throwing stars, black dyed cloaked leather armor, and for your special ability... you chose 'Cleave'. Allowing you attack again after a successful hit." Twilight said, reading from top to bottom of the paper.

"Now, you have pretty decent starting stats for a Warrior. 14 in Strength, 9 in Dexterity, 16 in Constitution, 6 in Intelligence, 13 in Wisdom, aaaaaand 16 in Charisma. I'd say those are pretty good actually. What say you, Applejack?" Twilight said, her smile widening.

"Those are acceptable, you are the better, even amongst some of the Orquine's elite forces." She replied in that un-Applejack like voice and tone.

"Orquine?" RD asked.

"An enemy faction, usually pig-like and seen roaming in groups or bandit camps." Twilight answered.

Suddenly, Rarity started giggling uncontrollably. At first, Twilight, Applejack, and Zecora were confused, before they caught on to what she was laughing about.

They too started to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" RD asked, feeling out of the loop. A frown growing on her face.

"Oh, nothing dear. You had to be here a few weeks back. I can tell you if you'd like?" Rarity said, calming her self down a bit.

Not soon after, did the other three calm down as well.

"Yeah, sure?" RD shrugged. Why not hold off the inevitable for just a bit longer. Pretty soon here, she's just going to be a nerd anyway. Why not listen to a couple of nerd stories, right?

"Well, darling. See Cake here? This imbecile quite literally charged into a bandit camp. Full of nothing BUT Orquine Brutes. He was slaughtered within five seconds. Heheh, the poor boy has lost so many characters. Each one was just as unique as the last. Anyway, let me explain it to you in detail. Seeing as how I'm the only one capable of remembering this moment to the dot." She said, giving off a slight giggle.

"Oh boy... a story. Let's just get this over with." RD said sarcastically to herself.

"You see, it all started when-"

_Flashback_

_Before the war, everything was normal, and nopony fought. That all changed when a single mare. One who called herself 'Rueful Night', killed the grand king. He whom held the world together with his wisdom._

_Not long after, ponies started disappearing from the roads and their homes. Nopony knows where they went too, they just vanished. That's when the Orquine started appearing, as if from magic, they came from fissures in the ground. They raided the smallest of settlements first, but as time went on, so did their hunger for death._

_They began to attack bigger places, Hayven, Hoofsteel, and even the Royal Outreach villages of Neighton. These villages too began to fall to the wrath of the Evil Queen. Any who disobeyed her rule, were slaughtered. Thrown away like mere trash._

_Equinteria, one of... was one of the only surviving rebel villages to hold their own against the queen. It's where the five of us were born and raised in. It's where our story began._

_"Seer! Seer! I have news from the guards!" A colt shouted amongst the crowd that surrounded him. A zebra, not too far ahead turned as she heard his voice. "Yes, what is it Young Virtue? if it is what I think, then tell me it isn't true." She spoke in rhyme, her voice filled with hints of dread._

_Young Virtue caught up to the zebra, and with an ashamed nod he spoke quieter this time. "They speak of beasts riding closer to the village's walls. With our remaining defences, we don't stand a chance!" He spoke, his hushed voice reaching her ears._

_Seer nodded, her mane covering both of her eyes as she thought. She then 'looked' at him, determination visible. "We must gather the others. For the beasts are merely the hunters. We shall leave and pack soon. You are correct, this village stands no chance, it is doomed."_

_After she said this, Young Virtue dashed off in search of his other friends._

_Not ten seconds later he returned, a sheepish look on his face. "I-uh... I don't remember where they are." He said with a chuckle._

_Seer gave a hearty laugh and roughed his mane a bit. "Come, this way child. I believe our friend Sir Gallant is in the Wild." She spoke in her rhymes._

_"Alright, let us go then!" Young Virtue spoke happily. He then turned around, along with Seer and followed her._

_Flashback Interrupted_

"What's this got to do with Cake dying?" RD asked.

During the beginning of Rarity's story, RD decided to grab a chair and sit. Cake... slept. Zecora smiled at the memories, as with Twilight. Applejack was beginning to nod off, but was awoken at the mention of her character's name.

Rarity, on the other hoof.

"I figured I might as well catch you up on some events. So, I figured the beginning was the perfect place to start." She spoke, earning a nod from Twilight.

"Now, may I continue? Or..." Rarity added, an eyebrow raised.

"Ugh, just go."

_Flashback, Again_

_The two approached somepony clad in PlateMail Armour, her blonde mane reaching her fore-hooves._

_The mare wielded a giant broadsword in her mouth. In front of her, a training dummy, with its head five feet away from its body._

_"Sir Gallant!" The young colt said with glee and started to sprint to her._

_At the mention of her name, the mare turned around defensively, only to loosen up as she saw Virtue 'charge' her head on. "Ah, Young Virtue! How is it you fare? Good I hope." She said after dropping her weapon as he tried to tackle her._

_The young colt giggled as she dodged with ease. "I am doing fine, how are you Sir Gallant?" He asks with a smile._

_"Good. Now, since Seer is with you. I take it you come baring news?" She asked, sweat beginning to form at her brow. She has been out here for quite some time._

_"Indeed I have my friend. It is time our visit must come to an end. The enemy grows ever near, the death of the village is to come, I fear." Seer spoke sadly, receiving a slow nod from Gallant._

_"I see... Let me gather my items. We will leave when you are ready. Go, gather the others. You know where to find me." She said, picking up her broadsword with her mouth and placing it in its holster/sheath._

_Flashback Interruption_

"Ok... so. Sir Gallant is Applejack, and Seer is Zecora. I'm guessing Young Virtue is Cake?" RD asked. "I'm confused..."

"Well, ya got mine an' Zecora's characters right, but nah, Cake ain't Young Virtue. He's actually the child of the king that was killed. It's our job to protect him. Ya'll see Cake in a moment." Applejack said, crossing her fore-hooves as she leaned back in her chair.

"Oh, alright. Continue, please." RD said, becoming slightly interested in this.

Rarity simply gave a nod, before giving off a slight cough.

_Flashback_

_"Must we leave so soon, Seer? I've only began my business merely days ago!" A scratchy female voice sounded from behind the door Young Virtue was left staring at._

_"Even so-" Seer tried to say, but was interrupted by the other voice._

_"I must'nt leave! The amount of gold I can profit from this place." She tried to reason with Seer, but she would have none of it._

_"Fortune you must listen to me! We can't stay here anymore, we must flee. The beasts are close now, I can feel it. Now pack your items, and simply quit!" Seer shot back._

_"Fine. Just leave me be for the time being. I will find you when I see fit." A soft 'hmph' sounded after Fortune spoke. From whom it sounded from, Young Virtue would never know._

_The door opened, revealing Seer. She simply nodded for Virtue to follow her._

_Flashback Interruption_

"Rarity." RD said. She didn't add anything after though, confusing the white unicorn for a moment. "Yes dear?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just saying. Fortune is Rarity." RD replied with a shrug. "Just continue. This is actually, not that bad. Now, I'm not saying I like it or anything, but... it's not _that_ bad."

Rarity smiled, as did the rest of the room.

Minus Cake, he was still snoring.

"Alright, as I was saying."

_Flashback_

_"Quiet Hooves!" Young Virtue shouted, if only to grab the ever moving stallion's attention. He never did stop, or turn around. He simply pushed on, through the crowd._

_Seer, knowing this would happen, just waited._

_"Quiet Hooves! Over here!" The young colt kept at it. Still not receiving an answer from the older male._

_Young Virtue watched as a random pony crossed in his direction, cutting off his view of his friend for a mere second, and after he crossed. Quiet was standing directing in front of him. "Yeah, what's up?" He spoke, differently from the others, seeing as how he was raised as a street rat._

_Seer waited to see what Virtue's answer would be._

_"We have to leave, the Orquines are coming to the village now. You have to pack everything, and drop whatever it is you're doing at the moment." Virtue said._

_"Alright, packed." Was Quiet's answer. It's not like he needs to pack anything, all he needs is his hooves, a dagger, a set of leather armour, and he's set. His motto 'Pack light, you leave in the night.' Is something he lives by..._

_A clash of metal hitting metal also sounded when he dropped a bag of gold coins. This earned him an eyebrow raise from both Virtue and Seer. "What? You said to drop what I was doing."_

_"You know... when a village offers to take us in next time... don't steal from the residents please." Virtue spoke, eyebrow still raised at the sight in front of him._

_"Got it. So does that mean I can...?" He trailed off, nudging his head towards the bag on the ground. Virtue just sighed. "Yes." Was all the answer he needed._

_Quiet picked it up and wrapped it around his waist belt. Again. "Alright, so I take it you told everyone else so far?" He asks, receiving a shaking head from Seer._

_"No Quiet Hooves, there is one left and we must move. Have you seen Miss Scripture" Seer was about to rhyme, but Quiet beat her to it._

_"-yeah, sorry. Ya just missed her." He said with a shake of his own head. "I can help you look for her though. I mean, I saw her... probably a minute or five ago." He said._

_"Where was she headed?" Young Virtue asked, tilting his head a little to the side._

_"I believe she said something about meeting Gallant or something... I can't remember. BUT, I can be, oh I don't know... 'persuaded' to remember all of the details." He said with a smirk as he stared at both Seer and Virtue, his hoof held out._

_Flashback Interruption_

"Wait-wait-wait. He tried to pawn a bit of gold off you guys? Bahaha! Only he'd do that." RD started laughing.

Her laughing died down as soon as she realized nopony else was laughing along with her.

"Why aren't you guys laughing?" She asked as she carefully examined each of their faces.

Twilight looked a little embarrassed.

"No freaking way. Don't tell me... Y-you're Quiet Hooves?" RD questioned, holding her laughter in.

"Guilty as charged... heheh." Twilight said, a small blush formed on her cheeks as she revealed this to RD.

"So if you're Quiet Hooves... that means... Bahahaha!" She started laughing even harder now, the thought of Cake being a female (again) was too much for her to handle.

Her long bouts of laughter caused Cake to wake up at this moment. "Snnngght~! Whaza? Oh... what's going on? Did we start?" He asked with a yawn.

"Um. No, darling. She's um... she's laughing at your's and Twilight's gender decision." She stated, a blank look on her face as RD was still laughing. "Oh, is that it? I thought we started, and she was laughing cause she died or something... 'Sides, we all know me and Twilight accidentally used each other's character sheets at the beginning... right?" He asked with another yawn, smacking his mouth a bit.

"Yeah, luckily, ya got 'Miss Scripture' and 'Quiet Hooves' killed. So now you both are ya'll actual genders." Applejack said, and with that, ignited something within Rarity.

"Hay, Applejack is the only pony to have not lost their starter character. That actually does explain why she is such a high level compared to us all. Level 58 Paladin, you lucky mare you." Rarity said, some envy written in her voice.

"Not mah fault ya couldn't keep yours alive long enough to actually get good at this." Applejack said with a smirk.

Twilight groaned, as she felt a battle was about to begin. So, she simply looked at them both and:

"Girls. Not while Cake's here. You know how he gets when any of us fight." She said, and to prove her point she looked at Cake. "Ain't that right, Ca-"

"-zzzz..."

He fell asleep again.

RD, who was ignoring that half of the conversation, spoke up again. "Wait? So... Gallant is the highest level? Who's the lowest?" She... really shouldn't have asked that.

Rarity looked at her with another blank look and coughed. "Um... that would be you, dear. You're a level 1 Warrior." She said, looking down all the while.

"But!" She added.

"You're actually _right_ behind Cake. Like I mentioned earlier, dear. He has lost so many characters. He's simply a level 7 Rogue right now.

RD was actually glad at hearing that. At least she has a chance of catching up. Although, the news of being the lowest level _currently_ still annoyed her to no end.

"Just... just continue the story..." She growled out lightly.

"Um, yes. As I was saying."

"Hold that thought miss Rarity. I have to go, but you can continue merrily. It is almost morning, so long I've been away. I will see you all tomorrow night, have a good day." Zecora suddenly spoke as she got up from her chair. She then took off her cloak and placed it around her chair and gave a nod to everypony in the room. She left without another word.

"Oh? It has? What time is-" Rarity looked around for Twilight's basement clock. Indeed, it is almost morning, 4:43 AM to be exact.

"Oh dear! Time flies when you're telling stories." Rarity said, blinking her eyes at the clock. She then looked down to RD again. "Rainbow Dash, dear? You don't mind coming back tomorrow and listening to the rest then, right?" She asked, both Twilight and herself looking at her expectantly.

"Actually... tomorrow, let's just start the thing, alright? You can tell me the rest some other time. Anyway, what's this game called anyway?" She asked in reply.

"Well, alright, only if you want to though. We can continue whenever you'd like. I actually like listening to this-" Twilight began.

"Thank you, Twilight." Rarity smiled as she spoke.

"-you're welcome, and as for the name? Temples & Tyrants. I can lend you the a few books so you can know more about the things going on if you'd like?" Twilight finished, and began to pack everything up. Even going as far as taking the cloaks off of everypony and putting them in the back-closet.

"Oh, alright. Yeah. I guess I can read up a bit on this... this actually seems... decent. I guess, haven't seen any fighting yet! But decent." RD said, shrugging again.

Soon after, everypony, minus Cake whom was still sleeping at the table, left the basement. Twilight locked the door behind her and everypony began talking about what they're going to do that night.

As promised, Twilight did lend those books to Rainbow Dash, she read them all throughout the day. Sure, she was confused at first, but as she read on. Things began to make sense to her, and she was sure she was going to enjoy the night.

Applejack went back to her farm, keeping her RP experience a secret from her family. The entire day was filled with nothing but apple-bucking and apple-selling.

Rarity went home, and eventually came up with costume ideas for her and her friend's characters to wear some other night. It was going to be, how she would say it, fabulous. The rest of the day was filled with pampering and 'ideeeaaa~!'.

Zecora eventually made it back to her hut, where she spoke to herself and events to come. She was happy that a new player entered the realm of Ponoria. Does she think RD is the chosen one? Only time will tell.

Twilight, she went all through the day sitting in her library, reading the entire time. However, something was bugging her, as if she forgot something. As usual, she figured nothing was wrong.

Yet.

And finally, Cake. He-he's still locked in the basement. Hoofing at the door, how Twilight can't hear him? Everypony that does the RP nights know.

She sound-proofed the room, so nopony can hear anything coming from the basement.

"I hate you all so much! For two reasons! One! Locking me down here, you suck for that! And two! For making me a background character in this story! Come on! Even Zecora has a bigger part than me!" He screamed, as he pounded at the door with his two front hooves.

Sadly.

Nopony heard from him for the entire day.

**-THIS IS A LINE!-**

**That's it for 'A Roleplaying Game' chapter 1. What did you guys think of it? **

**Yeah, I know, it was kind of shabby, but hey? I found this idea to be pretty cool actually. **

**However, I am considering just changing the story's name to 'Temples and Tyrants', but I might not. Just thinking, you know?**

**This... might actually just turn into an endless series, where the party just go on the most dangerous of tasks, sometimes the weirdest. I mean, with the power of imagination... anything is possible! **

**(A freaking T-Rex with cyborg arms and lasers shooting out of its arm-pits.)**

**In all seriousness though, I'd like to dedicate this one to all the people who enjoy my weird as all heck writing. It means a lot to me knowing that people actually like to read these things.**

**Omake:**

**Nerds and a Orquine:**

**"You must cast a Lightning Bolt, Miss Scripture! It's his only weakness!" Both Virtue and Gallant shouted out. The mare across from them fumbling around with a spell book in her hooves. "I-I... Hold on! I got this... um... page 173... Aha!" She says as she put a single hoof in the air, directed at a single Orquine Brute.**

**"Lightning Bolt!" She says.**

**Suddenly, as if everything went into slow-motion, a ray a sparkles beamed from her hoof, flowers growing along the rays.**

**Miss Scripture's eyes widened at the spell failure, and in slow motion turned to her friends, her eyes still wide... and she shouted, still in the slow-motion bit. "Soooooooon oooooff aaaaaa biiiiiit-" She was soon cut off as the giant Orquine creature chucked a humongous throwing axe, it then protruded from her chest. **

**Miss Scripture looked at her friends in anguish, and she dropped, saying one last sentence. "I... hate you all... so much..."**

**End**

**See ya for now people!**

**~Drop The Act. Put On A Smile**


End file.
